MESSAGE IN THE MOVIES

The King's Speech Rated R

Directed by Tom Hooper.  Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush

Photo © 2011 The Weinstein Company
Movie Review by Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

I have long felt that the best way to enjoy life is to make it up as you go along.  (There are many who feel my preaching follows this philosophy, but that’s for another column.)

Faith needs to be prepared for unexpected circumstances, gracefully moving ahead one step after another until crises are past. 

This is really the story of The King’s Speech, a delightful and inspiring film about Albert “Bertie” Frederick Arthur George (Firth), the second son of King George V (Michael Gambon) of England, who never expected to become king. 

His brother David (Guy Pearce) was slated for that honor.  When King George died, however, David was in the midst of a torrid romance with Wallis Simpson (Eve Best), an American divorcée, and he decided to abdicate the throne for love. 

Bertie would soon become King George VI and lead Great Britain through war with Germany, but he first had to overcome an oppressive stutter.  He makes contact with Lionel Logue (Rush), a speech therapist, and they form a partnership (and eventual friendship) which will solve his problem. 

The King’s Speech makes this history lesson moving and often humorous. I particularly enjoyed the family scenes (both men have solid marriages and are good fathers) and the ways in which their wives supported and encouraged them in the midst of their struggles. 

The film has a lot of heart and reminds us of the basic worth of all people and how friendship can overcome the class divide. 

The R rating is simply for a string of strong obscenities that are used to help Bertie with his stammer; I’d give this film a PG-13 rating myself. 

Great acting by the ensemble cast (with the unfortunate miscasting of Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill, who still does a good job) and Oscar-worthy turns by Firth and Rush make this one of the most entertaining movies of a rather lackluster year. 

Highly recommended.



Pitchfork/Halo Ratings:
Four halos.
An inspiring story about courage and friendship.

Two pitchforks.
For intimations of emotional abuse and a couple of sequences of nonsensical swearing.

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